Animal Services Transition

The City of Laguna Hills is excited to announce a new partnership with the City of Mission Viejo to provide excellent, high quality animal care and sheltering services, which will begin on January 1, 2017. Mission Viejo Animal Services provides a pro-humane animal shelter, 24-hour response to emergency calls, pet adoption, low cost vaccination clinics, animal licensing, volunteer opportunities, community outreach and events, and many other important services. Additionally, Mission Viejo Animal Services works closely with a non-profit organization, Dedicated Animal Welfare Group (DAWG), which raises money to pay for extraordinary medical expenses for animals in jeopardy of euthanasia and training for new pet owners.

At the intersection of Marguerite Parkway and Hillcrest, just behind Saddleback College, the Mission Viejo Animal Services Center is just over six miles away from the Laguna Hills Community Center. It’s located at 28095 Hillcrest, Mission Viejo, CA 92692. For more general information related to the shelter, such as hours of operation and pet adoption resources, please visit www.cityofmissionviejo.org/animalservices. Please remember that the transition of service providers will not occur until January 1, 2017 and that Mission Viejo Animal Services will not be able to provide any information pertaining to Laguna Hills until that time.

What You Need to Know

The City of Laguna Hills is working diligently to ensure that the change of the animal services provider is seamless. To help keep you best informed, please consider the following information and resources:

On and after January 1, 2017, all pet licenses, animal facility licenses, and pet renewal licenses must be obtained from the Mission Viejo Animal Services Center. If you have a current license that expires after January 1, 2017, you are not required to obtain a new license until your current license expires.

As part of the agreement with the City of Mission Viejo, it is possible that the City of Laguna Hills might update ordinances and regulations to Title 13 – Animals of the Laguna Hills Municipal Code. This will provide conformity between the two cities for the purposes of animal care and sheltering services and will also have implications regarding pet ownership and other topics. Any updates will be noticed according to state law for public discussion at a City Council meeting.